Jailbreak

Cydia

Several reports have surfaced that multiple iOS gamers who downloaded a free Chinese-language role playing game called 帝國 Online (the English version of the app is still in beta) have experienced fraudulent activity in their iTunes account - specifically, unauthorized in-app purchases. According to a report from Apple Insider, Apple is now investigating the matter.

Despite relatively decent user ratings, one gamer posted the following: "BEWARE. It will tap your iTunes account $ wise down to nothing. I had $50 in my account and this app on it's own took $49.00 from my account." Apple has reportedly refunded the alleged fraudulent in-app purchases claimed by some users. At this time, however, it isn't clear if the app truly bilked its players out of a decent chunk of change or if the players "didn't understand" they were making real purchases and not simply playing along with the purchase elements of the game.

While similar incidents have been reported infrequently, Apple only began seeing this variety of problem once it changed its original policy only allowing in-app purchases for paid applications. Now, developers can serve up free apps that sell in-game elements for a fee. As a result, some complaints - possibly including those outlined above - may be the result of gamer confusion. Consequently, gamers concerned with the prospect of being tricked into making real purchases have the option to disable in-app Purchases for their iOS device.